Hoboken
by That Girl55
Summary: A lot of things change when Mimi and Roger pass away, leaving their daughter to Mark. For one, it means he's moving out of Alphabet City for good this time. But with every new change comes a new opportunity, and it's way past time for Mark to fall in love. A series of one shots about Mark falling in love with his niece's best friend.
1. Harley

Roger and Mimi had a daughter named Kat. Shortly after they both passed away leaving their four-year-old daughter to Mark. This takes place ten years later, she is fourteen and Mark is thirty-four. Through some miracle, Kat does not have HIV/AIDS.

Kat looks like Joey King and her best friend Harley looks like Madeline Carroll.

Dedicated to my Uncle Mark.

Enjoy! xx.

* * *

Mark waved off his fourteen year old niece on the school bus from the kitchen window. Kat was going into ninth grade, she begged him for hours not to walk her down to the bus stop.

"Things are safer in Hoboken, Uncle Mark. It's not like Alphabet City. Besides, I'm a big girl and I can handle it myself." She told him.

Fourteen still seemed young to him, but he had to let her do it on her own. So instead he waited inside and, not wanting to break tradition, waved goodbye from inside the house.

He was anxiously awaiting her return home now, school had let out fifteen minutes ago. Mark puttered around the house, editing his films and trying to keep himself busy.

He didn't even hear the car pull into the driveway, but in his defense he was expecting a bus.

"Uncle Mark, I'm home!" Kat called, walking into the house.

"hey, I didn't hear you pull up." Mark said, walking over to greet her. Standing beside his short, young niece was a beautiful brunette who was more woman than girl.

She had pink streaks in her hair and was wearing lots of dark makeup. The first thing that popped into Mark's head was that she looked like someone Roger dated in high school, and the second was that there was no way this girl was only fourteen.

"Yeah, my engine's sort of quiet." She said, laughing. "I'm Harley, I drove Kat home."

"Uh, Kat's not allowed in cars with young drivers." He stuttered, sort of in shock.

"Uncle Mark! You've never said that before!" Kat exclaimed. "Seriously, Harley, he just made that up."

"I'm sorry," Harley said, biting her lip. "I can take you for a spin around the block if you want, to show you I'm a good driver. I've had my license for almost two years now."

"How old are you?" Mark asked.

"Eighteen, just turned. I'm a senior."

Great, Mark thought. Kat's first day of high school and she's already turning into Roger. In a way, though, he was sort of relieved. Kat never seemed to have any friends before, never brought anyone home from school or had playdates as a kid. He always figured it was because of the neighborhood they lived in-half of the community feared Kat and Mark, scorned them after Mimi and Roger passed away from AIDS.

"No, it's fine." Mark said, trying to think rationally. "I'm impressed, Kat. Your first day and you've already made a new friend."

"Yeah, Harley's great."

"do you guys want to help with dinner?" Mark said. "That is, if you're not needed at home, Harley."

"Yeah, I'd love to." Harley said. "My parents are on vacation, so I'm on my own for a while. I haven't had a good cooked meal in forever."

"Okay," Mark smiled. He found she was easy to talk to, easy to look at too. "Kat, give her a tour of the house and then we'll start on dinner."


	2. How they Met

"Kat," Mark asked as he tucked her into bed that night, after a bath and a snack. Harley had gone home about three hours ago, her Prius silently exiting the driveway. "Where'd you meet Harley?"

He'd been curious ever since he'd seen the girl. Kat wasn't the type to do something bad or bring attention to herself. He couldn't for the life of him figure out how his innocent, young niece had met the beautiful older girl.

"She helped me," Kat shrugged, blushing a little bit.

"What do you mean?"

"The other kids were mean to me," She sighed. "But they're always mean to me, so I just ignore it. They call me these awful, bad words and they call Mom and Dad that too. It was never this bad, though. They started to bug me whenever they got the chance. before there were always teachers around, so they were discrete about it at least, but now there's nobody. They started throwing food at me, Uncle Mark, and Harley stood up to them."

Mark's face paled, this was the first he'd heard about Kat getting bullied.

"I think I need to go in and talk to your principal." He said, wondering what the correct 'parenting move' would be. Before he passed Roger had assured him that this would come instinctively-but it wasn't.

"You can't." Kat sighed. "It's no group of people or anything, it's the whole grade. They all think I'm dirty."

"I'm sorry," Mark said, pulling her into a hug.

"It's okay, now. I have Harley to look out for me." She smiled. "Harley, isn't that a cool name?"


	3. Harley & Davidson

By the second week of school Harley had become a permanent fixture in the house.

She'd bring Kat home every day so she wouldn't have to put up with the kids on the bus. Mark had gotten into the habit of driving her to school as well, considering Harley lived on the other side of town.

The more Mark got to look at her, the more he wanted her around. Her long brown hair flowed perfectly down her back, she'd taken to wearing it in a long ponytail. Her smile was always bright, always happy, especially towards Kat. She treated the younger girl like a little sister, like they were best friends but not quite equals. Kat didn't seem to notice or mind.

After all their time together, thankfully Kat didn't start dressing like the older girl. Mark liked having his niece in jeans and graphic t-shirts, he liked not having to shop anywhere but JCPenny. Harley had a style similar to Maureen's, lots of black and lots of leather. She looked tough and sweet at the same time. You knew not to mess with her.

"Harley," Mark asked one time. She was cooking for them tonight, eager to show off her ability to make excellent spaghetti. "How'd you get your name?"

"My dad," She smiled. "He won engineer of the year at Harley and Davidson three years in a row. Would've won the fourth, too, but there was some freak accident and he passed away. I was only five. Then I was six when my mother remarried, but she stayed with this guy purely for his money. I don't even know what he does, I think he's some big shot CEO in New York or something."

"Hey!" Kat exclaimed. "My parents passed away when I was four, too."

"I'm sorry," Harley said to Kat, but she was looking at Mark.

"They were really in love," Kat said. "My mom was a dancer and my dad was a guitarist. They lived in the same building in Alphabet City, New York. Uncle Mark says he'll take me there when I'm older."

"That sounds good," Harley smiled. "Maybe he'll take me as well. I've always wanted to see Alphabet City."

Harley looked up at him with wide brown eyes, a small smile on her face, and Mark knew she wasn't just here for Kat anymore.


	4. Dizzy Dreamer

He dreamed about her that night, and he knew it was wrong.

She was legal, so no jail time at least, but she was his niece's best friend and here he was dreaming about her becoming Kat's Aunt. That's definitely creepy.

It wasn't so much a dream as it was a flash of wishes.

There was Harley climbing over him, her tan body clad in a red bra and panties. His pale hands were on her hips, pressing her body closer to his. Her lips were as red as her matching lingerie, her red nails pressing in to his shoulders as she threw her head back, laughing.

"What's so funny?" He said.

She shook her head and pressed her cherry coke lips to his.

There was another flash, one of her walking down the isle. Her lips were red again, red would be a good lipstick color on her. instead she always stuck to the nudes and barely-there pinks; she didn't want her eyes to compete for attention. She had no makeup on otherwise and her brown hair fell in tresses down her back. Her dress was short and white, bodycon of course, and she had matched it with red heels and black fishnets. They were in the apartment in Alphabet City, the one he and Roger and Mimi shared for a while before it became his alone. She arrived at the altar beside him, and he turned to face the priest. Angel was reading their vows.

There were more, of course, ones of her at the beach playing with a baby, their baby, and more and more. They were all of her, and he woke up completely erect.


	5. Homecoming

Kat's dress is "Strapless Short Dress with Stone Trimmed Bodice and Horsehair Skirt" in red from DebShops

harley's dress is "At The Crossroads Ivory Bodycon Dress" from LuLu

* * *

His dreams came true in a way. When homecoming season came around it was harley who had taken Kat dress shopping, Harley who did her hair and her makeup while Mark walked around the house with his video camera, trying to catch all the action.

"Here is my lovely niece, Kat Davis, getting her hair pinned by future hair stylist, eighteen year old Harley Deen. Aren't they lovely, folks?"

"You talk to the camera like it's a person." Harley giggled.

"He's always done that," Kat said. "You get used to it."

"I'll have to," She said quietly, so quietly that neither Mark nor Kat knew what to make of it.

Harley turned to him, ordering him to go downstairs and film them walking down. She wanted him to be surprised, to see his reaction at the finished product.

Then he left, and it was Harley's turn. She climbed into the dress that had haunted Mark's dreams for many nights.

Short and white, with a little cutout under her cleavage. She dressed it up the same way she had in his dreams, with bright red shoes and black fishnet tights. Her hair, which was back more often than not, was pulled loose and fell into it's natural waves. She wore the red lipstick he dreamed about, the only difference being was that she kept on her dark eyeliner.

Mark filmed Kat walking down the stairs, in flats and a puffy red dress. He was happy with her choices-she still looked like his innocent little girl. She hopped down the stairs, making her dress puff up even more, and giggled. Her makeup was minimal, just a little bit of foundation and eyeliner, the slightest amount of nude lipstick. Harley had done a good job with her.

"What til you see Harley," She smiled. "Harley! It's your turn!"

"Okay," Harley said, sucking in a breath.

"Oh my god," Mark muttered.

She stood tall with her back straight and made her way down the stairs like a lady. She stopped halfway, making a funny face at the camera. Mark could feel his stomach churn, felt himself grow hard. His face immediately changed and he prayed she wouldn't notice.

"What?" She said quickly. "Do i look bad?"

"You look incredible." He smiled at her, speaking to the camera. "Ladies and gentleman, this is the beautiful Harley Deen in a white dress and black fishnets-a look only she can pull off. She may need to trade in her hairdressing career for a modeling contract."

"Shut up," She teased, slapping his shoulder playfully. Where she touched him tingled. "Come on, Kat, we've got to get going before we're late."


	6. Prom

**Harley's dress is Jovani Pink cut out prom dress 99056. Kat's dress is Be Smart Strapless Embellished dress from JCPenny.**

* * *

Mark had waited long enough. It was prom night, and long past time for the girls to be home. Harley's dress had been stunning and spunky, just like her. It was designer, of course. Harley had offered to buy Kat a prom dress but Mark had assured her they were fine, that it was to much. Harley's mother had contacted Mark the night before to tell him to 'email her the pictures.' It hurt him, a little bit, to see how Harley's family really wasn't there for her at all. They loved her, but everyone loved Harley, they just didnt' have time for her.

Finally he heard the Prius pull up, but only because he was listening very hard, and he stormed to meet them outside.

"Where've you been, girls? It's four in the fucking morning!"

Kat flinched; she'd never seen her uncle swear in anger before.

"Mark," Harley said, her voice strong and surprisingly adult. "I need to talk to you."

"It's okay, Harley. I can tell him." Kat said, her voice full of fear as well. The last thing she wanted was for Harley to get hurt, though. "Uncle Mark, I met a boy."

Mark's head started to spin.

"And, after the dance, he took us back to his house for a party." Kat smiled. "He was really nice, a perfect gentleman. Harley kept an eye on us."

Mark took a deep breath, he could hear his heartbeat in his head. He didn't know what to say to her, how to teach his innocent little niece about sex, about right and wrong and what it means to love someone like he loved her. That wasn't his job, it was Mimi's job and Roger's job and well, all in all, it was the job of the mother. Mark didn't have a nurturing bone in his body.

"You need to call next time, Kat." was all that Mark could get out.

"I was safe with Harley." Kat said, fighting back.

"Next time," Harley said quietly. "We'll call."

"Good," Mark said. "Now, go to your room Kat. You're grounded for the next three days."

"For what?" Kat shrieked. Mark winced heavily; in all his years of raising her this was their first fight.

"For not calling."

"But-"

"Kat," Harley warned, her eyes pleading.

"Fine, goodnight Harley." Kat stomped up the stairs, heavy combat boots beating against the carpet.

"So," Mark said to Harley. "Tell me about this boy."

"His name's Chris Emerson and he's a sophomore," Harley said. "He plays baseball and his parents come to every game. He drives an old Mustang and he seems pretty well-off."

"That's not what I mean," Mark sighed. "I mean...is he a good boy? Will he take care of Kat and be good to her and take her out on dates that she enjoys? Will he put up with the child in her, the little girl who loves puffy dresses and disney movies?"

There was a moment of silence.

"I can't answer that," Harley sighed. "But, I do know, that you put up with me, and i"m twice as bad as Kat."

She shook her head, hurrying out of the house, while Mark stared quizzically at the spot where she stood.


	7. Graduation

**Harley's graduation dress is Nasty Gal Under Wraps Dress**

* * *

He waited until graduation to take her.

She showed up at his door with mascara running down her face the night before the ceremony, moaning about her parents kicking her out because she didn't want to be a lawyer, about how she had nowhere else to go. So Mark, knowing fully how she affected him, agreed to let her stay with him.

And then graduation came and she walked down the stairs in that dress that would probably become his new favorite, and of course it was white. She walked right up to him and gave a twirl for the camera, 'accidentally' grazing her hand against his hard on while she laughed. Then Kat came down and the whole scene became, well, embarrassing.

When she accepted her diploma there was no one there to clap for her but Mark and Kat, so they screamed and shouted and whooped and hollered. Afterwards there were parties to go to and people to say goodbye to, but Harley did none of that. she walked right to Kat and Mark and said, quietly and surely:

"Let's go home."

Kat had a date that night with that Chris boy, Mark had finally gotten to meet him and he approved of the little Roger lookalike, who thankfully acted more like a gentleman than Roger had at his age.

Other than to get Kat ready for the date, Harley had been hiding in her new room. And, once Kat was gone, he went to see her.

Harley was sitting on the bed in her pajamas, an oversized Harvard University sweatshirt and a pair of pink underwear he could tell were expensive. Her head was hidden in her hands and she didn't look up as he came into the room.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Mark said, wrapping an arm around her. "Are you sad your parents didn't come to the ceremony?"

"No, I just..." She sighed then, looking up at him. Her makeup had been wiped off and her eyes were clouded with tears. Still, she looked beautiful. To Mark's surprise, she leaned up and kissed him on the lips.

He didn't protest and Harley took that as a yes; she climbed on top of him and pushed him back on to the bed. She broke the kiss to pull of her sweatshirt; she wasn't wearing anything underneath.

"I've been waiting for you to do this," Harley said. "Since the beginning of the school year. I thought...I thought you never were."

"I was waiting too," Mark laughed, pulling her back on top of him as the cotton of his shirt scratched her nipples.


	8. After

"Hey," She said quietly. It was afterwards, when they were lying there in her little bed. Harley was still basically on top of him, but that was more for convenience than anything else. It was times like this when Mark showed his true age-Harley was ready to go again, but he wasn't. "Let's get married."

"What?" Mark sputtered.

"Yeah, married. I mean, we both want to do it, right? I'm eighteen, almost nineteen, so it's perfectly alright." She smiled at him, her eyes filled with little-girl fantasies he didn't know she had.

"Okay," Mark sighed. "Yeah, let's do it."

"Great!" Harley exclaimed, looking at him as if expecting something.

"Harley," He sighed. "I, uh, I wasn't planning this, any of it, you know that. I didn't even have a condom, much less an engagement ring lying around."

"Oh," She said quietly then. "Well, there's always tomorrow."


End file.
